


She Needs A Moment

by Loover



Series: Orange Tourmaline [2]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-05
Updated: 2019-12-05
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:32:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21683779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Loover/pseuds/Loover
Summary: Spinel confronts Steven and the Crystal Gems about what she thinks should be done with Jasper.Will they trust the judgement of a broken spinel?
Relationships: Jasper/Spinel (Steven Universe)
Series: Orange Tourmaline [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1563094
Comments: 4
Kudos: 68





	She Needs A Moment

Finally, Jasper’s army decided to retreat. Spinel couldn’t help but giggle to herself as they fled from Earth in their spaceships. Some warriors they were, what kind of army runs away without their leader? Did they even know Jasper was missing? Who made the decision to flee anyway?

Oh well, it didn’t matter, Spinel placed her hands over her gem. She had much more important things to worry about.

Spinel went to Little Homeworld and made her way to the Instant Care tent. Steven was always there after a battle. Healing cracked gems and making sure every warrior was accounted for.

Garnet was comforting gems who were distraught over what they have been through. Crystal soldiers who accidentally shattered enemy gems in the heat of battle or were traumatized by coming close to getting shattered themselves. 

Pearl was going around gathering any information their troops had managed to obtain and entering it into a device from Homeworld.

And Amethyst was going around collecting enemy gems that their troops had managed to bubble. Tapping them and likely sending them off to the beach house temple.

Oh,Spinel had a gem bubbled gem for ‘em alright, and some crazy information to relay as well…

“Spinel!” Steven greeted as he saw her come in. He kissed a fellow warrior's gemstone, healing it’s cracks instantly before running over to Spinel and glomping her with a hug. 

“I’m so glad you’re okay! I was so worried when I left you to fight Jasper all by yourself!” 

“Steven, your the one who asked me to come help fight this war with you in the first place! You really think life in the palace has turned me so soft I can’t handle even one quartz?”

Steven giggled as he released her from his arms. “Haha, no, We spar all the time, I know your strong. It’s just that Jasper’s strong too, and she always has a dang trick up her sleeve.”

Spinel could understand where Steven was coming from, Jasper definitely almost had the upper hand a few times during their fight. 

“Are you sure you’re okay though? No cracks, she didn’t use a weird weapon on you, did she?” 

“Steven, if somethin’ was tha matta with me I woulda let ya know by now! I’m fine, I swears it!”

Steven let out a sigh of relief, Spinel’s confirmation seemed to have settled his nerves. 

“Thank goodness. Well, I’m sure you have some information to tell about Jasper, right?” Steven asked in a hushed tone, trying not to further stress out the other gems in the room.

Spinel gave a silent nod. 

“Okay.” Steven said. “Do me a favor and go wait back at the beach house for us. There are still a lot of gems here that need help and healing. Can you do that?”

Spinel nodded again. 

“Alright, we’ll meet you there in a bit.” He said before running off to continue healing. 

Spinel exited the tent and made her way to the beach house. She sat on the wooden steps and waited.

When Spinel was told to wait somewhere, she won’t lie, she has quick flashes of Pink telling her the same thing. 

When she first went to stay with the Diamonds, they did tell her to wait sometimes. They had authority things to do after all. Spinel would try to distract herself with all her new friends in the palace, but sometimes they would ask her to wait as well, they had jobs after all. 

Spinel always had to remind herself that these people weren’t Pink. They would come back for her, and they always do. Ready to hear her jokes and play games with her, or just chat. 

When she had to wait alone, Spinel could never really relax. She would always be moving. If she decided to sit, she’d tap her foot. If she decided to stand, she’d unconsciously sway on her heels. 

The longer she’d wait, the more she would move. Foot tapping would turn into pacing back and forth, heel swaying would turn into curly armed handstands. 

But this time, Spinel wasn’t really moving. As she sat on the wooden steps, legs crossed, back leaning against the railing, one hand in her lap and the other resting on her inverted gem, Spinel felt content to wait. 

She didn’t really feel alone when she knew Jasper was safe in her gem with her. She was so relaxed for once, that she actually closed her eyes and fell into a light, peaceful slumber. 

She snapped her eyes open upon hearing the warp pad in the temple activate. She quickly stood up, trying to make it look like she wasn’t sleeping just now. Judging by the lighting of the sky, Spinel guessed she had not been asleep for longer than a few minutes. 

Steven opened the door, smiling when he saw her on the steps.

“Hey, Spinel, come on in. Thank you for waiting.” 

Spinel walked in as Steven held the door open for her. Upon her entrance, Amethyst was sitting at the kitchen counter, eating something. Pearl still had the Homeworld device up and running, likely organizing all the information the other soldiers have told her as she sat next to Garnet on the couch. Garnet was on the couch drinking a glass of tea.

“So, you fought Jasper, did you see her flee with her army?” Steven asked, getting straight to the point. 

“No, she didn’t escape.”

“Did she run away somewhere on Earth then? Do you know which direction-”

“No, she didn’t run. I managed to bubble her.”

The whole room went silent. Steven looked at her in shock, Amethyst stopped eating and Garnet continued to sip her tea. Pearl froze.

“WHAAAAT!?” They all shouted, Except Garnet. Garnet continued drinking her tea.

“Let me see her!” Amethyst insisted.

“Wait, we can’t let her out up here, she might try to get away! We should do it in the temple! Wait, are we even letting her out!?” Pearl said frantically.

“Of course we are letting her out! We have to talk to her!” Said Steven. 

The three of them began to bicker among themselves, deciding on what to do knowing they have captured their long time enemy. 

It made Spinel nervous, nervous for her new friend. She knew they wouldn’t shatter Jasper, but the whole thing seemed like it would stress Jasper out. 

Spinel has been in this kind of position before. When she came back to Earth for the first time, a mere month after her little  _ “tantrum” _ . 

**FLASHBACK**

Spinel wasn’t quite ready to revisit the Earth at the time, but Steven had invited her to hang out. Spinel felt obligated, After all, it was Steven who saved her from her misery, not once, but twice. Who was she to decline his gracious invitation for a playdate?

  
  
  
  


Spinel thought she was ready, she thought maybe she could handle it. She had made lots of new friends in the palace and had been getting along excellently with the Diamonds. And Steven had been chatting with her regularly, so he knew this of her. So maybe Steven thought she was ready too and that’s why he invited her. 

So she warped to Earth and was greeted happily by Steven. It was only when when she entered the house did her anxiety begin to rise. 

Amethyst and Pearl had greeted her kindly but were clearly uncomfortable with her being there. Garnet seemed genuinely happy to see her again though. The welcoming energy of Steven and Garnet allowed her to keep her anxiety down for a while longer. 

Steven took her into town where she met more humans and gems who were kind to her in their words, but their tone and body language would say otherwise. 

After what happened with her and Pink, Spinel became very good at being able to read people like that. Pink never told her she was bothersome, but looking back, Spinel could see the little clues Pink had been giving off, she was just too naive to notice at the time. Had she known, Spinel would have gladly toned her goofiness down a bit, anything for her best friend. But she messed that up, so here she was, making an effort to understand people better.

It works. She can tell when she was annoying people. She could tell when she may be talking too much,or tell when she was talking about something too boring, or something that made her new friends uncomfortable. 

It wasn’t even that bad, her new friends didn’t hate her or her goofy nature, in fact, it was clear most of the time that they rather enjoyed her company. They just appreciated it when she could take it back a notch. That’s all. And Spinel didn’t mind one bit. It made her feel different, like she was changing for the better. Becoming a better person. A better friend. 

But more than half the people she ran into on Earth that day, seemed to dislike her simply for existing in the same general space as them. Spinel couldn’t blame them. She did almost destroy their planet after all. But man, did it do a number on her emotions. 

Spinel was holding it together for a while until Steven decided to leave her side at Funland. 

He wanted to get cotton candy for them both. The line was quite long however, so he offered to wait in the boring line while she went off to enjoy the park. 

“I’ll come find you when I get them, go have some more fun!” 

  
  


And so Spinel wandered off, wondering if she should play one of the games or ride one of the rides, she was simply minding her own business until she overheard a gem and a human gossiping with each other a few feet away from her.

_ “Oh my gosh is that the gem who tried to destroy us all?” _

_ “Omg you’re right! What is she doing here?” _

_ “Yeah, who the hell invited her? Is she even allowed back after what she did? Ugh..” _

After hearing all that, Spinel finally snapped, running away and hiding behind one of the gaming booths. She let her tears flow freely. 

“C’mon Spinel, pull yourself together ol’ girl! You are here for Steven! He invited you here and has been nice to you and if you tell him you wanna leave now he’s going to think you disliked everything and-” Spinel had began rambling to herself before she was interrupted by a hand on her shoulder. She let out a squeaky “eep!” only to turn around and see that it was Garnet. 

“What are you doing here?” She asked, trying desperately to wipe her tears, feeling very embarrassed to have been caught crying. 

“That’s why.” Garnet said, pointing to Spinel’s wet cheeks. “I saw that a friend of mine would come here to cry, so I came to comfort them.” 

“We’re...I’m your friend?”

Garnet nodded.

“B-but I separated you! I rejuvenated you! I even took you hostage and-” 

Garnet put a finger to Spinel’s lips, gently, shushing the frantic gem. 

“Spinel, do you have any memories from when we all were rejuvenated?”

“Well, duh! I caused that whole mess.”

Garnet chuckled. “No, I mean, do you have any memories from  _ while _ you were rejuvenated?”

“Yes. It's blurry but...I remember a few things.”

“Do you remember us becoming friends?”

“Y-yes.” Spinel was embarrassed to say, but she had secretly been cherishing the fuzzy memories of becoming friends with the reset fusion. It was fun while it had lasted.

“While I was rejuvenated, I got to know you for who you were, innocent, loving, and fun. You became a real good friend to me. I really did enjoy you, Spinel. So when I got all of my memories back, I still saw my friend when I looked at you. My good friend who had changed and was going through a crisis. I wanted to help you, I could tell you were hurting. I just didn’t know how to help you, I didn’t know you’re past at the time like Steven did, so I had to leave it up to him.”

“R-really!? You really mean all that?”

“Of course! But now I do know your history, and I know what you are dealing with, and I want to help.”

“You know?”

“Yes, you’re being rejected by Earth and its citizens. You have apologized and even have Steven himself on your side and yet, people still seem to hate you for simply existing…”

Spinel blinked. Wow, Garnet got it spot on. Spinel opened her mouth to ask how, but Garnet beat her before she could speak. 

“ Because I know that feeling. The feeling of being hated by everyone just for existing. When I first formed here on Earth, no one had ever seen a fusion of two different types of gems. They hated me without even allowing Ruby or Sapphire to truly explain themselves. Even though I was just a harmless, confused fusion, they despised me. That’s what's happening to you now. Everyone hates you for doing what you did, but they don’t know your side of the story.”

“How do I fix it, Garnet?” Spinel asked as more tears rolled down her cheeks. 

“Love. Love is the answer.”

“Love?”

“You cannot get everyone on your side. Steven may have started an era of peace, but I know there are still plenty of gems back on Homeworld who are still cross gem-phobic. The best thing you can do for yourself, is love yourself. Love yourself more than anyone in the world could love you. And then, surround yourself with friends who support you, build yourself a family that accepts you, and, though it is not required, I highly recommend finding someone special. Someone special who not only accepts your flaws, but loves you because of them. Do that Spinel, and before you know it, the negative voices of others won’t bother you anymore You are already halfway there.”

“I am?” 

“Yes, The Diamonds are your new family, you are happy with them, right?”

Oh, yes! Spinel was very happy with the Diamonds! They were true to their word, they adored her and smothered her in attention everyday!

“And you have made some friends on Homeworld?”

Many new friends! All the pearls in the palace were so fun to be around! And the Topaz guards seemed to really like her company.

“And you already have some friends here on Earth, so not the  _ entire _ population hates you.”

“But Pearl and Amethyst-”

“Pearl doesn’t hate you, she’s just nervous. She feels like she could have saved you from the garden if she had not been so focused on Pink at the time.” 

“What!? It’s not her fault! We were both trying to make Pink happy!”

“Amethyst wants to joke around with you, she’s just worried that she might make you uncomfortable.”

“That’s ridiculous!” 

Garnet chuckled “If that’s the truth, then how about we go get Steven and go back to the house to tell them how you feel. After that, you can go home. I think you’ve had enough of Earth for today, yeah?”

Spinel nodded and she took Garnet’s hand. 

**PRESENT**

Ever since that moment, Spinel had formed stronger relationships with them. But it wasn’t instant, and the entire process took a bit of time. 

Spinel couldn’t help but wonder if this would all be too much for Jasper. Her relationship with Steven and the gems was a lot more sensitive than her’s. Spinel had only attacked them for one day, and that was after already knowing that Steven had nothing to do with what Pink had done. But Jasper had been attacking them for years, and under the false pretense of thinking Steven was Rose Quartz at the time. She had more baggage with Steven and the Crystal Gems than herself. 

Seeing everyone like this, after all she’s done, all she’s gone through could be too much for Jasper. Spinel wanted to protect Jasper.  Spinel put her hand over her inverted heart. She knew the feeling, and she wanted to protect Jasper from it, protect her friend like she promised. 

She began to panic, would anyone even want to hear what she had to say? Would they even take her seriously if she spoke on behalf of her new buddy?  Spinel was brought out of her downward spiral when she when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Looking up to see Garnet. 

“She’s in there, isn't she? Jasper’s bubble.” The fusion whispered.

Spinel nodded. 

“You care deeply for your new friend. You want to protect her from pain you have felt before.”

Spinel nodded. 

Garnet smiled. “I think Jasper is in safe hands. This will be good for her, Spinel.  _ You _ will be good for her.”

Garnet’s words hit her soul, she was touched that Garnet really thought that of her, that she was capable of helping Jasper, just as Garnet had been helping her.

“Everyone,” Garnet’s calm but firm voice got the attention of the others quickly. “We should listen to what Spinel has to say.” 

“Garnet’s right, Spinel is the one who fought her after all…” Steven said. 

Hesitantly, Amethyst and Pearl agreed and sat back down to listen to Spinel. 

“I...when I was fighting Jasper, I got her to open up to me. I learned stuff about her. I learned that her situation is similar to mine. So, given that we are so similar, I don’t think it would be a good idea to let her out in front of you guys right now…”

“Why not?” Pearl asked.

“Because it would probably stress me- I mean, her! It would probably stress her out. I promised her a place in the palace by my side. So maybe I should let her out there and you guys can see her again after she’s had some time away from you and away from the Earth.”

“What, you think we are gonna shatter her or something?” Amethyst asked, she seemed to be the most annoyed about all this. 

“No! I know you wouldn’t. She’s been through a lot, okay? She’s already had to deal with a major change since she agreed to come with me. Seeing you all and all of you trying to be buddy-buddy with her all of a sudden will overwhelm her.” 

“How do you know what’s good for her!?” Amethyst asked, questioning Spinel’s judgement. 

“Its my OPINION!!” Spinel shouted. Why was Amethyst being so difficult? Did she have some sort of history with Jasper? If so, why would Jasper leave out a detail like that?

“Amethyst, please!” Steven said, consoling the purple gem.

“Listen, I’m just doing for her what I would do for myself if I could go back in time. Steven, surely you would go back and change how you handled me if you could, right?”

“Hmm..” Steven contemplated. “I’m happy with the way things turned out, but I will admit, There are a number of things I wish I did differently..” 

“That’s what I’m saying here! Jasper has a chance to recover from a trauma with someone by her side who has dealt with almost the exact same issues as her! So, based on that, I really don’t think it's a good idea for her to see all of you so soon.”

“Alright then Spinel, I understand. If that’s the case, then what do you suggest?” Steven asked. 

“She needs space, and she needs to be around someone she’s comfortable with, as well as a place she is comfortable in. She’ll probably feel best on Homeworld with me since I understand her. I can keep you all updated and bring her back to speak with you all when the time is right.”

“Right ...Okay, everyone, I think it's a good idea to let Spinel handle this the way she sees fit.” Said Steven. 

“Whoa!! Really!?” Spinel shouted, surprised that it was so easy to win Steven over. 

“Yeah, you have a point. I always do my best to help all the gems who have been hurt by my mother’s actions, but truthfully, I can never relate to their issues and it makes it harder for me to get through to them. But you probably learned more about Jasper in your fight than we have over the past three years.”

“Steven, you can’t be serious! You can’t trust Spinel with something delicate like this!” Amethyst said. 

“Amethyst, it will be fine. I know you want to help Jasper, but I really think Spinel is the best person for the job. Jasper opened up to her, not you, or me, or any of us. But for some reason she felt okay talking to Spinel.” 

“But-” Amethyst tried to argue further, was interrupted buy Garnet. 

“It’s decided. Spinel will take Jasper back to Homeworld and help her with her problems and report to us on Jasper’s progress and a good time to speak with her.” Garnet knelt down to Spinel and gave the pink gem a hug.  “You got this, Spinel.” She said before letting go and adjusting her visors with a knowing smile. “Trust me.”

“Thanks! Don’t worry everyone! Leave it all to me!!” 

And with that, Spinel warped back to Homeworld. 

Upon entering the throne room, there were no Diamonds in sight. No other palace gems either. 

Perfect. 

Spinel made her way to Pink Diamond’s room, or more accurately now, her room. Spinel had been here once or twice back when Pink actually liked her. But after the Diamonds gifted it to her, Spinel made lots of changes. 

For one, the room was no longer empty. Spinel had filled it with gifts from the Diamonds as well as many souvenirs from Earth. Posters from different animated Earth shows lined the walls and there were bubbles hovering around that had extra stuff in them. Like prizes she won from Funland or random little junk she found that Steven or the Diamonds said she could keep.

There was actually some furniture. A bed, Spinel actually found herself liking sleep. And a desk where she kept art supplies. Spinel enjoyed drawing, but she wasn't nearly as good as Blue Diamond's pearl. 

  
  


"Pebbles, I'm back!" 

Rectangular holes began to appear in walls and on the floor. 

The pebbles giggled happily as they climbed up Spinel's body. Spinel laughed and stretched her arm so her elbow became a sort of swing set for them, the pebbles loved it when she did that. 

"Did you bring something back for us?" One of the pebbles asked excitedly. 

"Not just some _ thing _ , some _ one _ ! How would you all like to meet Spinel's newest buddy?" 

The pebbles were usually very shy around new gems, but they seemed happy to meet Spinel's new friend. 

"Okay, I'm gonna bring her out, let's make sure she feels welcome, she's been through a lot lately." 

The pebbles nodded as Spinel stood up, summoning the bubble out of her chest.

She popped it and the tiny orange gemstone began to glow and float. 

Jasper reformed, she didn’t look all that different, but there was a notable beige ‘X’ on her shirt instead of whatever design she had before. 

“Hey…” Spinel said.

“Hi…” Jasper said. “Where...am I?   
  


Spinel smiled. “In a safe place. Welcome to my room!” 


End file.
